Nigeria to open bids for 30 marginal oil fields

Created: Monday, 04 September 2017 10:33

The NNPC and IPPG leaders welcome the new bidding rounds. (Image Source: NNPC)The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced that the federal government will open bids for concessions on 30 marginal oil fields

A date for the commencement of the bidding rounds has not yet been announced bu Dr Maikanti Baru, group managing director, NNPC, said there were "lots of opportunities in the marginal fields" and he urged the West African country's independent producers to take advantage of the low crude oil price to develop capacity and acquire technology. He has urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) to work closely to ensure that the bidders meet the required conditions.

"The marginal oil field lease renewal is an opportunity for your group," Dr Baru told an IPPG delegation. "You will need to engage the DPR early in discussion to find out the conditions that the federal government is interested in."

Dr Baru went on to cite gas-to-power plants and fertiliser plants as two sectors where independent operators could be successful. He has also tasked the IPPG with ramping up production from 10 per cent of national production to 50 per cent in the next 10 years to increase the footprint of local companies in the upstream sector, in accordance with the government's local content policy.

Eng. Adeyemi-Bero, chairman of IPPG, praised the Nigerian government for initiating the Joint Venture cash call programme, saying it would bolster the group members' activities in the upstream sector.

The US Trade and Development agency has released a statement in support of the forthcoming bid rounds, saying that it "represents an opportunity for US oil and gas firms to work closely with local companies working in the upstream sub-sector, where US technologies and expertise can help advance Nigeria's energy goals".